went to see Wales yesterday.......

[jadegoodiesfridge]

Went to see Wales yesterday .Aviva trains only put on two carriages out of Ebbw Choc a bloc by the time we reached Llanhilleth
Train opted to then go straight to Cardiff .My international ticket was in a wallet in Newbridge .Got off at Cardiff with neither match ticket nor Aviva ticket .Proceeded to purchase said Aviva ticket .turned corner to stand in a nine mile queue.Took half an hour to purchase ticket,and on realizing via an Aviva train leaflet that I would probably be waiting an hour and a half outside in the cold waiting for the Ebbw train home .purchased a one way ticket
Finally met up with my mate who arrived on the next train with my ticket intact.Headed for pub.Asked for a pint and was duly charged almost 5 quid for said pint .I asked if in fact I had also purchased the glass.The barman ( college type ) gave me a rather confused look .
Headed for stadium ,got to the bar .bought a £ 4 .20 pint .Realised I had spent nine quid on two pints .Took my seat surrounded by sheep's heads, daffodil heads Cardiff Uni types and legions of hen party's.Thought I was at a Take That concert for one moment .The build up included pyrotechnics, nice touch ,but could do extensive damage had it been Pandy Park
The game was nothing much to shout about Usual tripe served up from Warburton,Roberts ,ball ,Cuthbert et al
.Couldn't help feeling sorry for Dan Lydiate.What has happened to our boy ? Looked totally lost .A season back at Ebbw would do him a power of good .
In between the oggy oggy oggys ( has anyone ever been to a club game where somebody shouted out oggy bloody oggy ?)and the inevitable attempts at getting a Mexican wave going I found myself shouting for the Japanese .what a gutsy bunch they were.I actually felt sorry for them when Sam Davies landed that drop kick.The euphoria surrounding that kick inside the stadium was ridiculous .It was as if we had just beaten England rather a scratch Japanese side .
Went home feeling disenfranchised to the teams I watch.Couldn't help thinking that Llandovery have better backs than Wales and Ronnie's better then Warburton.What the hell has happened to our game when 70000 people honestly believe that after that crock Wales are still a quality team.Roll on Friday .

[Stevey]

Lots of reasons not to go next time I think.

[robert rees]

Wales stumbled past Japan, here is what happened again in brief, but mainly what we need to do to beat SA http://lastwordonrugby.com/2016/11/20/w ... ast-japan/

[Eye Jay]

Went to see Wales yesterday .Aviva trains only put on two carriages out of Ebbw Choc a bloc by the time we reached Llanhilleth
Train opted to then go straight to Cardiff .My international ticket was in a wallet in Newbridge .Got off at Cardiff with neither match ticket nor Aviva ticket .Proceeded to purchase said Aviva ticket .turned corner to stand in a nine mile queue.Took half an hour to purchase ticket,and on realizing via an Aviva train leaflet that I would probably be waiting an hour and a half outside in the cold waiting for the Ebbw train home .purchased a one way ticket
Finally met up with my mate who arrived on the next train with my ticket intact.Headed for pub.Asked for a pint and was duly charged almost 5 quid for said pint .I asked if in fact I had also purchased the glass.The barman ( college type ) gave me a rather confused look .
Headed for stadium ,got to the bar .bought a £ 4 .20 pint .Realised I had spent nine quid on two pints .Took my seat surrounded by sheep's heads, daffodil heads Cardiff Uni types and legions of hen party's.Thought I was at a Take That concert for one moment .The build up included pyrotechnics, nice touch ,but could do extensive damage had it been Pandy Park
The game was nothing much to shout about Usual tripe served up from Warburton,Roberts ,ball ,Cuthbert et al
.Couldn't help feeling sorry for Dan Lydiate.What has happened to our boy ? Looked totally lost .A season back at Ebbw would do him a power of good .
In between the oggy oggy oggys ( has anyone ever been to a club game where somebody shouted out oggy bloody oggy ?)and the inevitable attempts at getting a Mexican wave going I found myself shouting for the Japanese .what a gutsy bunch they were.I actually felt sorry for them when Sam Davies landed that drop kick.The euphoria surrounding that kick inside the stadium was ridiculous .It was as if we had just beaten England rather a scratch Japanese side .
Went home feeling disenfranchised to the teams I watch.Couldn't help thinking that Llandovery have better backs than Wales and Ronnie's better then Warburton.What the hell has happened to our game when 70000 people honestly believe that after that crock Wales are still a quality team.Roll on Friday .

And you, sir, have summed up perfectly why I, and many others, have not been to an international for years, and wouldn't go now even if given a free ticket

[jadegoodiesfridge]

You know something .I wouldn't either.

[robert rees]

Same here. Haven't been for around 4-5yrs

[Stevey]

I was more disappointed by Ebbw's defeat last Friday than Saturday's show against Japan. It's far more personal!

[viewfromthestand]

Well said Mr Fridge. I have to agree with you on every aspect of your post. The day of the genuine rugby supporter going to international matches will soon be over. It is a staged performance now where you must wear the cumpulsory daffodil, sheep or dragons head hat, wave at the big screen and open your mouth wide and mime to my hen had an addock and cooked it for tea . our Byron was with him they saved some for me.Above all it is full of the the ones who got away , went over that England got a job earned big bucks and feel that they are now posh Welsh . Had one such encounter last season when we played Italy (free ticket mind , my butty bought it and could nt attend and was putting it in the bin). Sat a row behind me was an absolute toff, all tweed and cravat , a former vallies boy who had made good , developed the twang and then thought it was ok to swear posh . Had to tell the bounder to watch his p's and q's as I was sat amongst several families who s children did nt deserve to hear such inane drivel spoken so elequently. ( I m no angel when it comes to swearing but there's a time and place) I just told him he was one of them two hats. He soon shut up.
Even our trusted beer seller Mr J D Wetherspoon breaks with his promise on international day down the city , his prices go up by £1 across the board. So this peoples hero has got the charge em more, their dull enough to pay syndrome.
On the performance of the team. I think if you turned in an eight hour shift that bad in any of our local factories , you would nt be long before the sack was forthcoming. Our players seem to get away with it . Play poorly , say sorry and there they are next week again . I don t accept that , once is forgivable, maybe twice if your a new cap but week in week out for the likes of Warburton is a joke. I think it s time to try new things , new players and out with the old guard. They had their time and did some great things but teams have worked us out.We need to play heads up rugby and take the challenge to our opponents , chuck the ball around and exploit gaps , unlike this crop of bump and fall merchants we have now. It was a chronic weekend all round on the rugby front for me . Our boys did nt show up and the Wizards produced some magic on Friday night and then there was Saturday and what more do I have to say. Bring on the thugs oops I mean Bargoed

[Halftime Pint]

Reminds me of a Wales v Samoa game I went to about fifteen years ago. Same sort of hen party/novelty hat wearers in front of my mate and I. Halfway through the second half, they were shrilly shouting "Go on Neil!, Go on Neil!!" Trouble was, Mr Jenkins had been substituted about twenty minutes previously,and they were in fact encouraging Martin Williams.
On a similar thread, was walking over the bridge to Newtown to stand on the bank for the Carmarthen game, and was passed coming the other way by Mr and Mrs Creased Sleeve Copy Welsh shirt, obviously heading for Spoons to watch the Argentina game. Felt like saying "Your local club are about to kick off, support them!!". But hey ho.
PS. A "Creased Sleever" is someone who only watches rugby when Wales play, have little grasp of the game, and their top has been in the drawer all year with neatly ironed sleeves from when it was laundered after the last international. Courtesy of my rugby anorak mate who is having a new shaver for Xmas.